The "T" of T-shirt

THE 'T" OF T-SHIRT

You see people walking everywhere with it and everyone has a stack of it in their closet at home: the T-shirt. It is an iconic everyday garment that people of all age and income brackets wear. It is an affordable top that is comfortable and suitable for almost all occasions. But how did the T-shirt get its name and where did it come from?

You may never have thought about the name, but it did not come about by accident. In fact, the letter ‘T’ refers to its shape. The horizontal piece is formed by the sleeves and the vertical piece by the torso. When you unfold the T-shirt and lay it down, it is clearly visible. It is therefore not for nothing that the ‘T’ of T-shirt is an uppercase letter, after all, with a lowercase letter it would not take on that same distinctive shape. 

The T-shirt as a uniform
The origins of the T-shirt lie with the US Navy. The first version served as underwear to be worn under the uniform. The underwear-like shirt had a round neck and short sleeves. The army also adopted it and it gave soldiers more freedom of movement. Then workers in the fields, farmers, miners and construction workers appropriated it. These preferred light fabrics in case of hot weather. Only after the Second World War did it become acceptable to wear only a T-shirt without any covering over it.

Popularity
The first T-shirts were also printed in the late 1930s. The Wizard of Oz was the first film to feature printed T-shirts and merchandise promoting the film was in high demand. Not much later, Mickey Mouse featured an exclusive print on a T-shirt via a licence for a textile company. When sex symbols Marlon Brando and James Dean also started wearing T-shirts in their films, the popularity went through the roof. It became a real fashion item and cool to wear one.

Thanks to the development of better inks for textiles, the T-shirt gained more and more wearing functions in the sixties. It became a self-expression tool, wearable art, advertising medium, souvenir and protest tool. Well-known designs from the 1970s are still as popular as ever; for example, with smileys, The Rolling Stones logo, I ♡ NY, etcetera, etcetera.

Design applications
Apart from wearing functions and prints, designers also experimented with colour and shape. A multitude of fabric colours and patterns hit the shelves. In addition, designers varied in style and fit. Well-known are the round neck and V-neck. Think of ringers, raglan sleeves, A-shirts, tank tops, camisoles, spaghetti straps, polos and so on. Nowadays, many applications are possible on T-shirts. Some examples are: screen printing, sublimation, decal application or embroidery. These techniques also continue to evolve, so new ones will be added. This way, consumers can wear the unique T-shirt. Whether for work, sports or leisure.